You Paid $14,800 for Inventory You Don't Have: Bill Control Policies in Odoo 18

Your AP clerk just paid $14,800 for 200 units you ordered. Problem: You only received 143 units. The other 57 are "in transit" according to your supplier. They've been "in transit" for 11 days.

You prepaid for inventory you don't have. That's $4,218 tied up in limbo. Your cash flow statement shows you're sitting on $127K in inventory when the real number is $94K. Your accountant uses the inflated number to calculate working capital. You get declined for a credit line because your ratios look worse than they are.

Last quarter, this billing-timing mismatch happened 47 times. Total cash locked in "ordered but not received" inventory: $61,300. For 8-23 days per incident. That's working capital you can't use for payroll, marketing, or anything else.

Odoo 18's Bill Control Policy setting fixes this by letting you choose: bill based on what you **ordered** or what you **actually received**. Here's which one to use and when.

What Bill Control Policy Actually Controls

When you create a vendor bill in Odoo, the system needs to know: "How much should this bill be for?" The Bill Control Policy setting determines this.

Wrong choice = cash flow problems. Right choice = bills match reality.

Option 1: Bill Based on Ordered Quantities

This generates bills for the **amount you ordered**, regardless of what actually arrived.

Example Scenario

When to Use This

• Prepayment agreements: Supplier requires payment before shipping
• Drop-shipping: You never receive inventory—it ships directly to customer
• Highly reliable suppliers: They always ship exactly what you ordered
• Contract terms require it: Your agreement says "pay on order placement"

How to Set It Up

1. Go to Purchase app
2. Open any product (or create new one)
3. Click Purchase tab
4. Look for "Bill Control Policy" field
5. Select: Ordered Quantities
6. Click Save

Now, whenever you create a purchase order for this product, bills will be generated based on ordered amounts.

Option 2: Bill Based on Received Quantities (Recommended)

This generates bills for **only what physically arrived** at your warehouse. Much safer for cash flow.

Example Scenario

When to Use This (Default for Most Businesses)

• Net payment terms: You pay after receiving goods (Net 30, Net 60)
• New/untested suppliers: Don't trust delivery accuracy yet
• High shipping variability: International orders, fragile goods, perishables
• Large orders: Quantity discrepancies are expensive on big purchases
• Cash flow protection: You want to pay only for what you actually have

How to Set It Up

1. Go to Purchase app
2. Open any product
3. Click Purchase tab
4. Find "Bill Control Policy" field
5. Select: Received Quantities
6. Save

From now on, bills for this product will match what your warehouse team actually checks in.

Real-World Example: How This Saved $43K

Client: $8M D2C apparel brand, 120 SKUs, 14 suppliers across China/Bangladesh/Vietnam.

Step-by-Step: Create a PO with Bill Control

Let's walk through a complete purchase order workflow using "Received Quantities" policy.

1. Set Product Policy

1. Purchase app → Products
2. Select product: "Wireless Mouse"
3. Purchase tab → Bill Control Policy: Received Quantities
4. Save

2. Create Purchase Order

1. Purchase app → Create → RFQ
2. Select vendor: "Tech Supplies Co"
3. Add product: Wireless Mouse
4. Quantity: 200 units
5. Price: $18 each
6. Total: $3,600
7. Click Confirm Order

3. Receive Goods (Partial Shipment)

1. Click Receipt smart button on PO
2. Warehouse team counts: 183 units received (17 damaged in transit)
3. Update Done quantity: 183
4. Click Validate
5. System asks: "Create backorder for remaining 17?" → Select No Backorder

4. Create Vendor Bill

1. Go back to Purchase Order
2. Click Create Bill button
3. Odoo auto-fills bill with 183 units @ $18 = $3,294
4. Notice: Bill is NOT for the ordered 200 ($3,600)
5. It's for the received 183 ($3,294)
6. Click Confirm

Handling Discrepancies

Sometimes you need to bill for amounts that don't match either ordered or received quantities.

Scenario 1: Supplier Ships More Than Ordered

Scenario 2: Need to Bill Before Receipt

Setting Default Policy Company-Wide

Instead of configuring each product individually, set a default for all new products.

1. Go to Purchase app
2. Click Configuration → Settings
3. Scroll to "Invoicing" section
4. Find "Default Bill Control Policy"
5. Select: Received Quantities (recommended)
6. Click Save

All future products will inherit this default. You can still override it per-product when needed.

Common Mistakes That Cost Money

Which Policy Should You Use? Decision Matrix

ROI: Why This Matters

For a D2C brand doing $200K/month in purchases with 93% receipt accuracy: